Responsible Travel

Responsible travel is important to Mekong River Cruises. We are proud to be part of Sustainable Travel International, a non-profit organization that focuses on protecting the planet’s most vulnerable destinations. As part of a global community of mindful travelers, we strive to make a positive impact and give back to the places we explore.

With years of experience in ecotourism in Southeast Asia, our cruises and tours offer unique cultural and natural experiences while promoting ecological awareness. By choosing Mekong River Cruises, you can enjoy your vacation and help conserve the environment. Here are some simple tips for traveling responsibly.

As members of the International Ecotourism Society, we are advocates for making tourism a viable tool for conservation, protection of bio-cultural diversity, and sustainable community development.

By choosing to travel with Mekong River Cruises, you are supporting local indigenous communities and helping to preserve the rainforests that are their home.

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Conserve Natural Environments

Visiting biodiversity hotspots offers a great opportunity to promote environmental responsibility and conservation. However, if travelers neglect to protect their natural surroundings, it can harm delicate land and marine ecosystems.

Here are some important tips to keep in mind:

  • Visit Protected Areas: Your entry fees support local conservation efforts, and responsible tourism helps protect sensitive ecosystems.
  • Follow Rules: Always obey guidelines to safeguard the environment, wildlife, and local communities, as well as ensure your own safety.
  • Hire Local Guides: This gives you a better understanding of the area and supports the local economy.
  • Leave No Trace: Stay on marked trails and avoid damaging the environment.
  • Choose Responsible Businesses: Look for companies with credible eco-certifications.
  • Conserve Resources: Use air conditioning and hot water only when necessary.

By following these guidelines, you can enjoy your travels while helping to protect nature.

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Conserve Natural Environments

 

Visiting biodiversity hotspots offers a great opportunity to promote environmental responsibility and conservation. However, if travelers neglect to protect their natural surroundings, it can harm delicate land and marine ecosystems.

Here are some important tips to keep in mind:

  • Visit Protected Areas: Your entry fees support local conservation efforts, and responsible tourism helps protect sensitive ecosystems.
  • Follow Rules: Always obey guidelines to safeguard the environment, wildlife, and local communities, as well as ensure your own safety.
  • Hire Local Guides: This gives you a better understanding of the area and supports the local economy.
  • Leave No Trace: Stay on marked trails and avoid damaging the environment.
  • Choose Responsible Businesses: Look for companies with credible eco-certifications.
  • Conserve Resources: Use air conditioning and hot water only when necessary.

By following these guidelines, you can enjoy your travels while helping to protect nature.

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Conserve Natural Environments

Visiting the planet’s biodiversity hotspots has the unique potential to spur environmental responsibility and support conservation, but if travelers don’t take care to protect their natural surroundings, their vacation can cause lasting harm to fragile land and marine ecosystems.

  • Visit protected areas as your fees will directly support local conservation efforts and responsible visits to sensitive ecosystems can initiate support for protecting new areas.
  • Obey rules and regulations for the protection of the environment, wildlife, local communities, and your own safety.
  • Hire local guides to get a better understanding of what you see and to boost the local economy.
  • Leave no trace, stay on designated nature trails and avoid causing damage to the surrounding environment.
  • Look for businesses that carry credible, third-party certifications and walk the ‘eco- friendly’ talk.
  • Conserve natural resources, such as using air-conditioning and hot water only when necessary.
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Minimize Waste & Pollution

The earth’s resources are precious, yet we continue to create excess waste and pollution. Tourism tends to exacerbate these issues, particularly in small islands and developing destinations which lack sufficient waste management infrastructure and are highly vulnerable to climate change.

  • Avoid disposable plastic products and support the Travelers Against Plastic campaign. Make a habit of requesting no straws; bring a reusable water bottle and purifier to filter your own water; and refuse plastic shopping bags.
  • Don’t litter and dispose of waste properly, recycling when possible.
  • Fly less and smart, pack as light as possible, take the most direct route possible and offset your emissions.
  • Participate in active travel experiences like exploring on foot or by bicycle.
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Protect Wildlife

While many tourists are well-meaning animal lovers, a lack of awareness or the lure of an exotic selfie can result in tourists unintentionally harming the very animals they care about. As wildlife experiences become more popular, it is important to plan trips that prioritize animal welfare.

  • Keep wildlife wild by not touching, disturbing, or feeding land or marine wildlife. This can alter their natural behavior and have detrimental effects on their ability to survive.
  • Be a responsible photographer, taking photos from a distance and not of drugged, restrained or captive animals.
  • Choose ethical experiences that do not interact with animals in exploitative ways, such as zoos or elephant rides.
  • Wash with biodegradable soap and use sunscreens with the Protect Land + Sea Certification.
  • Be aware of what you’re eating, make sustainable seafood choices and avoiding consuming endangered species.
  • Buy responsible souvenirs, avoiding items made from animals such as turtle shell, ivory, or coral.
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Raise Awareness

Awareness of environmental issues and sustainability best practices are fundamental in saving our rainforests and natural heritage sites. Through your first-hand travel experiences we hope you too will become their advocates.

  • Discuss issues with friends, and families via word of mouth or social media to increase awareness further.
  • Why not travel with family to embed environmental awareness in future generations for them to carry the fight.
  • Stay informed using Sustainable Travel International’s Travel Better Club, an online community where travelers can access sustainable travel tips, take a “Travel Better” pledge, and complete an online training course.
  • Raising awareness of conservation issues globally puts local governments under more pressure to act responsibly.
  • The viability of rainforest ecotourism encourages locals to adopt sustainable hunting and farming methods, ensuring the future survival of endangered species and habitats whilst appeasing cultural traditions and folklore.
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Cruise & Contribute To Conservation

Whether preserving the Amazon and the way of life for its indigenous people, creating an urgently-needed corridor for Borneo’s Pygmy Elephants to migrate, or establishing a network of new national parks across Cambodia, by traveling with Rainforest Cruises you can contribute to swift conservation action when and where it is needed most.

For each and every traveler that books with us we make a donation to the Rainforest Trust’s Conservation Action Fund to allow them to purchase and protect several acres of vulnerable rainforest and the species therein.

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Respect & Preserve Cultures

Travel provides an unparalleled opportunity to learn about and celebrate other cultures. As a traveler, your actions can play an important role in preserving them, but a lack of awareness and respect can lead to harmful cultural homogenization, community hostility, and degraded heritage sites.

  • Take your cue from locals and observe local standards of dress and food etiquette to avoid offense.
  • Be aware of cultural communication sensitivities, make an effort to learn and use some of the local language, and be aware many gestures have different meanings in other cultures which can sometimes be offensive.
  • Respect and celebrate traditions, whether it be participating in authentic cultural experiences when invited, or understanding and respecting the significance of sacred or religious sites, following visitor guidelines and not touching artifacts.

For each and every traveler that books with us we make a donation to the Rainforest Trust’s Conservation Action Fund to allow them to purchase and protect several acres of vulnerable rainforest and the species therein.

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Support Local People

Tour greatly improve local communities and support sustainable development, but only if your spending benefits locals.

Here are some easy ways to make a positive impact during your travels:

  • Buy Local Crafts: Support local culture and the economy by purchasing handmade items.
  • Bargain Fairly: Remember, a small amount to you can help provide a meal for a local family.
  • Eat Local Food: Enjoy meals made with local ingredients to support farmers and get fresh produce.
  • Treat Locals with Respect: Always ask for permission before taking photos, as locals are not tourism objects.
  • Don’t Give Handouts: Avoid giving money or candy to children or beggars, as this can create dependency.
  • Choose Responsible Companies: Travel with businesses that support local communities, employ residents, and provide essential supplies to remote areas.

Our Conservation Collaborators

MEKONG RIVER CRUISE Trust

We are proud to be Conservation Circle Partners of the Mekong River Trust, a non-profit organization that has focused on purchasing and protecting endangered tropical forests for over 26 years. They are committed to saving endangered wildlife by collaborating with local communities and fostering partnerships that promote conservation. Through these efforts, the Mekong River Trust plays a crucial role in preserving biodiversity and supporting sustainable practices in the region.

Sustainable Travel International

We are a member of Sustainable Travel International, a project of the Ocean Foundation, recognized as giving back to the places we care about and depend on, and considered to be playing a critical role in conserving our planet’s most vulnerable destinations.

International Ecotourism Society

As part of the International Ecotourism Society we are advocates for local community engagement and support, ensuring biodiversity conservation through facilitating economic, social and environmental sustainability with our careful and considerate tours.

Local Community School Projects

We are proud members of Pack for a Purpose, an initiative that helps travelers make a lasting impact to the local communities of in their destinations by bringing small but essential school supplies in their luggage. Details of our projects can be found below.

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